Transmission casing for internal combustion engine locomotives



July 25, 1939. w. F. ECKERT 2,167,065

TRANSMISSION CASING FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE LOCOMOTIVES Original Filed Nov. 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR \X/M. E EcvcEe-r y 25 1939. w. F. ECKERT 2,161,065

TRANSMISSION CASING FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE LOCOMOTIVES Original Filed NOY. 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IDLER. SHAFT I: If:

VINVENTOR \X/m. F. ECKEBT I ATTORNEY y 1939- w. F. ECKERT ,0

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INVENTOR WM. F. ECKEBT 4 QTTORNEY Patented July 25, 1939 TRANSMISSION CASING FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE LOCOMOTIVES- William F. Eckert, Ridley vPark, Pa.

Original application November 28, 1936, Serial No. 113,126. Divided and this application May 2'7, 1938, Serial No. 210,439

7 Claims.

This invention relates generally to change speed gear transmissions adapted especially for internal combustion engine locomotives and relates more particularly to an improved structure such as a transmission casing for supporting and housing the gears and shafts. This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 113,126, filed November 28, 1936.

It is well known that mechanical transmission of power from an engine to the locomotive wheels through the medium of a change speed gear transmission is one of the most difficult problems that designers of small capacity locomotiveshave been confronted with, especially when it is attempted to provide a low cost transmission that is compact and sturdy and can be readily mounted in the frame of a locomotive with its inherent narrow width but without restricting the accessibility of the transmission for purposes of inspection or repair. Many attempts have been made to design transmissions that will meet the foregoing conditions, but such designs have been deficient in that they require excessive space, are not conveniently accessible when either removed from or assembled with the locomotive or are too costly or inefficient. 7

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved combination and arrangement of elements in a casing for supporting and housing transmission gears and shafts and for effectively supporting such a casing by the locomotive frame. Another object is to provide an improved casing that is extremely compact and sturdy as Well as providing a rugged and effective supporting relation with the locomotive frame, all of which is obtained with a high degree of accessibility to the transmission.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of the complete transmission viewed from the driven end;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the complete transmission viewed from the opposite side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; i

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 66 of Figs. 3 and 1.

In the particular embodiment of the invention, such as is shown herein merely for the pur pose of illustrating one specific form among possible others that the invention might take in practice, I have shown one specific arrangement of gears and shafts in order to set forth clearly the casing structure and its advantages. A driv- "5. ing shaft I. (Fig. 5) is adapted for connection either directly or through a clutch to the drive shaft of an internal combustion engine or other suitable prime mover. This shaft is journalled in suitably held bearings generally indicated at 0 2 and 3, it being noted that bearing 3 is mounted in a support 4 depending from the top of the gear housing generally indicated at 5. Rotatably journalled on shaft I is a reverse driving pinion 6 and a forward driving pinion I adapted alter- 15 natively to be clutched to shaft I through suitable gear type clutch rings 8 and 9 whose internal teeth are complemental to, and respectively receive, the teeth of gears 6 and l. The clutches are suitably splined to shaft l. Inasmuch as the 120 general and detailed structure of the transmission can be more briefly and clearly described in connection with the various gear speeds, the latter will be taken up in order.

First speed forward.-Driving pinion I as shown in Fig. 4 meshes directly with an initial driving gear l0 which as shown in Fig. 3 is keyed to an intermediate driving shaft II. This shaft is journalled at its ends in bearings I2 and I3 and at the intermediate point by a bearing [4, a '30 suitable partition orverticalwall l5 being provided to support bearing l4 while another vertical wall l6 supports bearing l3. Shaft II transmits its power through a pinion l8 meshing with a gear it which is freely journalled on a third shaft 20 herein referred to as the driven shaft. Gear I9 is adapted to be connected to shaft 29 through a usual shiftable clutch generally indicated at 2!. Shaft 21! is j-ournalled in end bearings .22 and 23 and in intermediate bearing 24, bearings .23 and 24 being supported in the vertical walls [5 and I6. Shaft 20 drives a bevel pinion 21 meshing with a bevel gear 28 which is secured to a main transverse jackshaft 29 located to the rear of the transmission. This jackshaft as shown in Fig. 6 is peculiarly arranged so that bevel gear 28 is located at theinner heavy end of the shaft adjacent to which a large capacity frictionless bearing 29' is located upon a reduced stub portion 36 of the jackshaft. A cover 3| holds the bearing in position and is of such size as to permit removal of the jackshaft through the opening closed by the cover. The other end of the jackshaft projects outwardly through one side of the gear case and a sprocket 32 is keyed to the shaft.

The outer end of the jackshaft is journalled in a bearing 33 supported in a dependent bracket 34 which is preferably bolted or otherwise suitably secured to a horizontal shelf bracket 35 formed with the gear case. Any suitable driving chain or chains connect sprockets 32 with the driving axle of the locomotive in a manner that is well known in the art.

Second speed forward-This is obtained by disengaging clutch 2| from gear I9 and engaging clutch 2| with gear 31 which is journalled upon the main shaft 20. Power thereupon flows from shaft I through gear 1, Fig. 4, to gear I 0, shaft II, pinion 38 keyed to shaft I I and thence to gear 31 meshing with pinion 38, shaft 20 and bevel gears 21 and 28 to jackshaft 29.

Third speed forward-Clutch 2| is placed in neutral and a clutch 40 is shifted to the left to connect a gear 4| to shaft II, this gear otherwise being freely rotatably journalled on said shaft. Power is thereupon transmitted from the engine propelled shaft I, Fig. 4, through gears 1 and I0, thence through shaft I I, Fig. 3, gear 4| and a gear 42 meshing therewith and keyed to shaft 20 to drive the bevel pinions 21 and 28 and jackshaft 29. V

Fourth speed forward-Clutch 40 is engaged with a gear 43 normally freely journalled on shaft II thereby to cause power to be propelled from the engine driven shaft I through gears 1 and I I1, shaft I|, gear 43 meshing with a gear 44 keyed to shaft 20 and thence through shaft 29 to the bevel gears and jackshaft 29.

First speed reverse.-Forward speed clutch 9, Fig. 5, is disengaged and reverse clutch 8 is engaged with gear 6 which as shown in Fig. 4 meshes with a gear 46. This gear 46 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is normally freely journalled on a reverse idler shaft 41. This shaft as shown in Fig. 4

is located to one side of and substantially parallel to engine driven shaft I and is suitably journalled in the casing including dependent bearing support 4. Gear 6 drives gears 46 to in turn transmit power through a gear 48 meshing therewith and keyed to shaft II from which the power is transmitted through any one of the four speeds heretofore described merely by shifting the clutches 2| or 40 to their selected positions.

From the foregoing disclosure of the several gear trains, it is seen that an'extremely compact, simple and yet highly rugged change speed gear transmission is provided. For example, gears I!) and 48 are located between gears I9 and 31 whereby it is possible to take advantage of this spacing to provide for clutch 2 I. Due tothe relative size of the set of gears I 0 and 48 as compared to the set of gears l9 and 31, it is seen that the gears I0 and 48 are adapted to have their peripheries lie in relatively close relation to clutch 2| while the clutch shifting mechanism including the transverse shaft 50 and shipper yoke 5| are adapted to be disposed beneath clutch 2| without in any way enlarging the transmission case to house the same. Similarly the size of the gears 4 and 43 compared to the gears 44 and 42 permits a clutch shipper mechanism including a transverse shaft 52 and shipper yoke 53 to be compactly located beneath clutch 48. This arrangement is in combination with providing ample end and intermediate bearing supports for the second and third shafts II and 20 respectively while the arrangement of the change speed gears together with the bevel gears 21 and 28 is such that a gear case of minimum weight may be provided.

C'asing.-As shown in Fig. l, the engine driven shaft and idler shaft 41 are located in a gear case section 55 having its lower edge provided with a flange 56 while the rearmost portion of said case terminates in a bevel gear cover portion 51. This cover portion also extends laterally as at 58, Figs. 1 and 6, to reinforce the horizontal shelf bracket 35 and also preferably to overlie a portion of the bracket 34 so that all three members may be commonly connected by a bolt 59. An intermediate gear case section generally indicated at 68 has an upper flange 6| mating with a flange 56 to be secured thereto by bolts while mating flanges 62 and 63 are formed respectively on the lower edge of section 60 and on the upper edge of a lower gear case section 64 to be bolted together in any usual'manner. The flanges 56 and 6| lie in the plane of the axis of shaft I I while flanges B2 and 63 lie in the plane of the axis of shafts 20 and 29.

It is also seen from the disclosure herein that the jackshaft end of the transmission may be rigidly connected to the locomotive frame through any supplemental brackets such as 66 secured to the underside of flanges 56 and 6| while a bracket 61 is provided with flanges 68 and 69 bolted to the under side of shelf 35 and to the lower end of bearing bracket 34. To support the front end of the transmission, I provide a plate 1| performing the dual functions of a cover for bearing I2 and a support for any suitable transverse frame supporting member diagrammatically indicated at 12, Fig. 3. The plate is secured to the gear case by bolts 13 while the cover has a flange 14 supported on frame member 12 which in turn is secured to the gear case by bolts 15.

Thus it is seen that this general arrangement permits the main body of a gear transmission to be located in such a horizontal plane that a minimum portion thereof, such as the upper gear case 1 section 55, projects into the cab portion of the locomotive. Hence minimum space is required combined with maximum adaptability for connecting gear shift levers to the ends of the clutch shifting shafts 50, 52 and to the forward and reverse clutch shifting shafts 16 and 11, Fig. 5.

It will of course be understood that various changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A gear transmission comprising, in combination, a driving shaft, an intermediate shaft, a

. third shaft and a transverse bevel gear jackshaft,

gearing connecting said shafts for driving the same, and a gear case having lower, intermediate and upper sections separable along planes substantially containing the axes of said intermediate and third shafts, said lower and intermediate sections having a rearwardly projecting portion which provides a housing for said jackshaft and bevel gear thereon, and the upper section having a rearwardly projecting cover for said bevel gear housing.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of a bearing supported between adjacent sections with the bearing axis substantially in the plane which separates said adjacent sections, a cover for said bearing supported by said adjacent sections, and means associated with said cover to provide a frame engaging portion for supporting the transmission casing.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of an intermediate shaft bearing located at one end of said housing between adjacent sections thereof and with the bearing axis lying substantially in the separable plane between said adjacent sections, a cover for said bearing, and a horizontal flange formed with said cover and projecting outwardly therefrom to provide a frame supporting connection for the casing.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of an intermediate shaft bearing located at one end of said housing between adjacent sections thereof and with the bearing axis lying substantially in the separable plane between said adjacent sections, a cover for said bearing, and a horizontal flange formed with said cover and located at the upper portion thereof above the axis of said bearing to provide a frame engaging portion for supporting the transmission casing.

5. A gear transmission comprising, in combination, a housing having lower, intermediate and upper sections separable along horizontal planes, said lower and intermediate sections having a rearwardly extending portion terminating in a transverse jackshaft casing portion, said upper section extending above the plane of the uppermost surface of said rearwardly extended housing portion, a longitudinally extending driving shaft mounted in said upper section, and longitudinally extending driven shafts associated with said lower and intermediate sections.

6. A gear transmission comprising, in combination, a transmission housing having lower, intermediate and upper sections connected to each other along horizontal separable planes, said lower and intermediate sections projecting rearwardly from said upper section to provide a housing portion for a transversely disposed jackshaft which projects laterally through one side of said lower and intermediate sections, a laterally extending flange associated With said lower and intermediate sections adjacent said jackshaft, and a bracket dependently supported by said lateral flange to provide a journal for the outermost end of the jackshaft.

'7. The combination set forth in claim 6 further characterized by the provision of a frame supporting member secured to said lateral flange and to the under side of said dependent journal bracket.

WILLIAM F. ECKERT. 

